''Oeneis polixenes'', the Polixenes ArcticPolixenes Arctic
Butterflies of Canada or Norique Alpin,''Oeneis polixenes''
ITIS is a species of butterfly in the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

Satyrinae The Satyrinae, the satyrines or satyrids, commonly known as the browns, are a subfamily of the Nymphalidae (brush-footed butterflies). They were formerly considered a distinct family, Satyridae. This group contains nearly half of the known divers ...

. It has a

Circumpolar distribution A circumpolar distribution is any range of a taxon that occurs over a wide range of longitudes but only at high latitudes; such a range therefore extends all the way around either the North Pole or the South Pole. Taxa that are also found in isolat ...

occurring in northern parts of North America the Arctic

Urals The Ural Mountains ( ; rus, Ура́льские го́ры, r=Uralskiye gory, p=ʊˈralʲskʲɪjə ˈɡorɨ; ba, Урал тауҙары) or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through European ...

, Kamtchatka,

Yakutia Sakha, officially the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia),, is the largest republic of Russia, located in the Russian Far East, along the Arctic Ocean, with a population of roughly 1 million. Sakha comprises half of the area of its governing Far Eas ...

Chukchi Peninsula The Chukchi Peninsula (also Chukotka Peninsula or Chukotski Peninsula; russian: Чуко́тский полуо́стров, ''Chukotskiy poluostrov'', short form russian: Чуко́тка, ''Chukotka''), at about 66° N 172° W, is the eastern ...

, and northern

Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...

Description

The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...

is 33–51 mm. The dorsal wings are dark grey brown, with orange patches near the wing margins. The upperside of the hindwings are a darker grey medially.

Distribution

''O. polixenes'' occurs in northern Canada from coastal Newfoundland to the Yukon.Layberry, R.A., P.W. Hall and J.D. Lafontaine. (1998). ''The Butterflies of Canada.'' Toronto: University of Toronto Press. 280 pp. + color plates.

Subspecies

Listed alphabetically: *''O. p. antonovae'' Lukhtanov, 1989 – northern Siberia (Gyda Peninsula, Taimyr Peninsula, Wrangel Island) *''O. p. yukonensis'' Gibson, 1920 – south western Yukon *''O. p. beringiana'' Kurentzov, 1970 – eastern Chukot Region * ''O. p. katahdin'' (Newcomb, 1901) – Maine (Mt. Katahdin) *''O. p. luteus'' Troubridge & Parshall, 1988 – Manitoba, Alberta, British Columbia, Northwest Territories, Yukon, Alaska *''O. p. peartiae'' (Edwards, 1897) – Baffin *''O. p. polixenes'' – Labrador, Quebec *''O. p. subhyalina'' (Curtis, 1835) – Arctic Canada *''O. p. woodi'' Troubridge & Parshall, 1988 – Arctic coast (Yukon, Alaska) *''O. p. yukonensis'' Gibson, 1920 – south western Yukon

Similar species

* Philip's Arctic (''O. rosovi'') *

White-veined Arctic ''Oeneis bore'', the white-veined Arctic or Arctic grayling, is a butterfly, a species of Satyrinae that occurs in North America and Asia. Description The wingspan is 37 to 49 mm. The dorsal view is a dull greyish brown while the females a ...

(''O. bore'') *

Melissa Arctic ''Oeneis melissa'', the Melissa Arctic, is a species of butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. The wingspan is 42–51 mm. The larvae feed on various sedges, including ''Carex bigelowii'' and ''Carex rupestris''. Subspecies *''Oeneis melis ...

(''O. melissa'')

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3343609 Oeneis Insects of the Arctic Butterflies described in 1775 Taxa named by Johan Christian Fabricius